Cooperative water filling of a nonpolar protein cavity observed by high-pressure crystallography and simulation.

@article{Collins2005CooperativeWF,
title={Cooperative water filling of a nonpolar protein cavity observed by high-pressure crystallography and simulation.},
author={Marcus D. Collins and Gerhard Hummer and Michael L Quillin and Brian W. Matthews and Sol M Gruner},
journal={Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America},
year={2005},
volume={102 46},
pages={16668-71}
}

Formation of a water-expelling nonpolar core is the paradigm of protein folding and stability. Although experiment largely confirms this picture, water buried in "hydrophobic" cavities is required for the function of some proteins. Hydration of the protein core has also been suggested as the mechanism of pressure-induced unfolding. We therefore are led to ask whether even the most nonpolar protein core is truly hydrophobic (i.e., water-repelling). To answer this question we probed the hydration… CONTINUE READING